This article appears as part of Casey Weade's Weekend Reading for Retirees series. Every Friday, Casey highlights four hand-picked articles on trending retirement topics and delivers them straight to your email inbox. Get on the list here.

Portfolio comparison: While housing is a major expense, retirement savings are an even larger financial responsibility. Here, author John Rafferty contrasts two primary methods for securing retirement income: A conventional portfolio withdrawal strategy and a fixed indexed annuity with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB). The portfolio approach, relying on an eight percent annual growth assumption, requires a larger initial investment ($425,000) to generate a $25,000 annual income, which could increase with inflation. In contrast, an annuity offers a guaranteed $25,000 income for life starting at age 65 for a smaller initial investment ($250,000), though without inflation adjustments.

Key takeaways: As you secure a retirement income strategy that’s personalized to you, consider all options that can potentially reap you significant cost savings, whether it’s annuities or another investment vehicle. You deserve to feel confident that your income plan is working just as hard to save you money as you are.